Update: Norovirus Strikes Again: Cunard Ship May be Turned Away from U.S.

Update: Norovirus Strikes Again: Cunard Ship May be Turned Away from U.S.

January 11, 2010

(3:35 p.m. EST) -- Update: Cruise Critic contributor Ted Scull, who was onboard the crossing, reports that Queen Victoria did indeed dock in New York today at noon, and passengers were allowed off the ship. A spokesman for the CDC tells us that as of Sunday at 3:41 p.m., Queen Victoria reported 163 passengers with cases of gastrointestinal illness (that's 8.7 percent of the 1,874 passengers onboard), as well as seven sick crewmembers. The ship first notified the CDC of a possible Norovirus outbreak on January 7 when the number of ill passengers passed the two percent threshold.

According to the U.K.'s Daily Mail, there is a chance that the ship may be denied permission to dock in New York if the number of ill passengers reaches an epidemic level -- 15 percent or more of the ship's occupants. The ship is currently scheduled to arrive in New York earlier than planned, on January 11 midday rather than January 12.

Cunard spokesperson Jackie Chase confirmed that there are several sick passengers but was unable to say how many, exactly, have come down with the gastrointestinal virus, which causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and possibly headaches, fevers and abdominal cramps. Ted Scull, a Cruise Critic contributor, is onboard Queen Victoria and says that there have been no reports that the ship will not dock in New York.